Ella Parker had 'genuine feeling of shock' after huge swing vs. Cal

NORMAN — Ella Parker even shocked herself on Sunday.

The true freshman had just rounded the bases after a huge home run in the fourth inning. The ball completely cleared the right field stands at Love's Field, as Parker's solo shot sent the ball 285 feet with an exit velocity of 81 miles per hour.

Most importantly, the home run gave the Sooners an eight-run lead and pushed the game into run-rule territory.

After rounding the bases, the ESPN+ broadcast caught the reaction of Parker, who said it might've been the biggest swing of her career.

"It was definitely shock," Parker said of her reaction. "I think the first words that came out of my mouth were, 'I don’t think I’ve ever hit a ball that far.' Just that genuine feeling of shock that I really did that was really funny."

Even OU coach Patty Gasso was impressed.

"Probably one of the longest bombs I've seen, here for sure," Gasso said.

That swing helped put the punctuation mark on the Sooners' 12-1 win over the Golden Bears, securing the Norman Regional victory to advance to next weekend's super regional round.

Parker's home run was the most emphatic swing, but it was far from the only one for the Sooners.

The offense was flowing early for the Sooners, who scored four runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. All four runs came off from home runs — Gabbie Garcia got things started with a leadoff home run, then Ailana Agbayani sent a three-run shot to right field.

In the sixth inning, the Sooners firmly put the game away. Kasidi Pickering sent a three-run home run to left field, giving her three home runs for the weekend.

Then, of course, Parker punctuated the game with the Sooners' fourth and final home run of the contest. The Sooners added three additional insurance runs after Parker's swing.

The offense was on fire the entire weekend for the Sooners, who run ruled all three of their opponents. They scored 31 runs across the three games on 28 hits (14 on Sunday), and the team combined for eight home runs.

It was a big weekend of growth for the Sooners, who simply never found themselves tested.

"It just goes to show how much we bond and connect off the field," Parker said. "We do a lot of work doing that and making sure that everybody has a sense of togetherness, not only on the field, but off the field. And it makes me really excited to see what we have going forward and really looking forward to this coming weekend."

There's been a lot of exciting moments for the Sooners this season. They sit at 48-7 on the season, secured the SEC regular season championship and earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they'll host a super regional next weekend after beating their three opponents in the Norman Regional by a combined score of 31-3.

Through all of those regular-season moments, Gasso was adament her team hadn't peaked yet. This weekend's performances, particularly on offense, provided pretty significant evidence that it's happening at the right time.

"I'm really really pleased with this team and how they came out early and scored big in the fourth and then just kind of added along," Gasso said. "Looking at the box right now and there were hits up and down the lineup which was wonderful to see.

"I've said this team hasn't peaked and I'm starting to feel something about this right now and it's pretty exciting."

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